Toronto High-Rises get Low Scores on Recycling

Toronto needs to do a lot better when it comes to recycling waste from its thousands of residential high-rise buildings, a local environmental group says.

CBC News accompanied Emily Alfred, a senior campaigner with the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA), on a tour of the dumpsters that sit outside many of the city's condo buildings.

Examining the contents of those dumpsters demonstrates Toronto has made little progress diverting its high-rise trash, Alfred said.

"Orange peels, cans, glass bottles ... most of this looks like it could be in a green bin or recycling bin," Alfred said as she rummaged through the contents of a big, black dumpster sitting outside one of Toronto's more than 5,000 condos.

"The average garbage bag in Toronto contains 70 to 80 per cent of recyclables, compostables, hazardous waste, e-waste," Alfred said. "So, if we just focus on education and getting people to put things in the right place in the first place, our problem will disappear. It's not a sexy, new solution; it's going to take hard work."